In the End
by silverdragon8
Summary: *CHAPTER 5 UP!* Bulma born as a saiyin applies to be an elite, so where does Vegeta come in? And what is the King planning? R&R!
1. The test?

Disclaimer: All right, lets get this over with. My name is not Toryama. I'm not even Japanese! So, there's no way that I'm claiming DBZ as mine. 

In the End 

Buruma paced outside the King's door, and stopped the instant she realized what she was doing. What the hell 'am' I doing anyway. Breath, just breath. Sigh. She leaned up against the wall. Why was she so nervous anyway? It's not like the end of Vegeta-sei was coming, but she just 'had' to be accepted. She was the smallest sayjin even among the females, but that fact never stood in her way. Sigh. She moved her hands behind her head of blue hair. Yes, blue. She chuckled. It must have nearly caused her father's tail to fall off when he had seen her right out of the womb. Most sayjins possessed dark brown or black hair, but no, not Buruma. She had to be the odd one out. To this day it still bothered her father. Anyone could see the gray hairs in his tail. She couldn't help that; he would just have to learn to accept it. 

No one ever really made a big deal about her coloring. Well, maybe she was being a bit modest. The females often sneered at her coloring, but the males were a different story. They loved to stare at her tail, no doubt. Tails were the prized possession of every sayjin, and the fact that hers stood out from everyone elses made her's the best of the best. 

Tap. Tap. 

She looked up from her thoughts. 

"Buruma." The sayjin elite called her name taping his foot a bit agitated. 

"Y...yes." Don't be nervous. Don't be nervous........Kami, I think I'm going to wet my suit. 

He peered at her. "Into this room for your final examination." 

She nodded and hurried into the room. His eyes followed her movements closely, but paid more attention to her tail. 

"You have completed the strength exam?" 

"Yes." 

He checked the chart in his hands. "Hmm, I see. You scored relatively low there." 

Gulp. 

"All right. I certainly hope you have more brains than brawn." 

"Yes sir." 

"You will be given a test of mental skill. Good luck." The door shut behind him. 

'Good luck?' She chuckled silently. This would be a piece of cake. Ever since childhood, she had been noted for her brilliance. Near her adult years, she come to understand now that the sayjin race wasn't exactly....intellegent. 

She sat at the empty table in the blank room. White walls, white floor, and ceiling. It might have looked nice with padded walls. What am I supposed to do? Her eyes fell to the table. She smirked. This was her challenge? Forming ki balls couldn't be simpler. Sighing happily she picked her challenge off the table......and got to work on the rubix cube. 

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Final Note: I really have no idea where this is going. I literally type what comes into my head. So if you want to contribute, feel free to do so. 


	2. Light the match, watch the sparks fly

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, blah blah blah, you know the drill, k?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Buruma tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling propping her feet on the table. Could it possibly be any more boring? She had finished her 'task' about thirty minutes ago and, to say the least, was getting a bit restless. She glanced down at her blue tail that was thrashing around wildly. "Hey, I know this is a bit boring, but could you calm down just a bit?" She chuckled. If anyone ever saw her talking to her tail, the chance of her becoming an elite would disappear as quickly as the inhabitants on a purged planet. A shudder shuffled down her spine to the base of her tail.  
  
Freeza, that bastard. Even in her head, she said his name with malice. He had the whole saiyin race in the palm of his hand. She was sure it made every saiyin's stomach churn. The worst of all was that he had taken their prince. Her heart sank for a moment. Vegeta No Ouji, the prince of the saiyin race. He was to be trained as one of Freeza's top warrior's. No doubt, he would be the strongest, but under the service of that monster. Buruma stopped herself before the small amount of ki she had flared out anymore. She slammed a small fist against the table. "Damn him!"  
  
She sank back in her chair, and felt the small flush of rage fade from her face. She had never even seen the prince, though he most likely looked like his father.  
  
She glanced around the room again. How long was she supposed to stay in here? Did it really take the average saiyin that long to figure out a damn rubix cube? Her tail reached up and flicked the frivolous puzzle on the table as she stood. She sighed and wrapped her blue extension around her waist. Tails really were a dead give away to someone's emotions. The main reason tails were wrapped around the waist was to hide those feelings because emotions were a no no. She laughed. She didn't think they could possibly be as great a weakness as everyone said they were.  
  
Soon her thoughts trailed off, and she began to pace around the room. Okay, so she wasn't the most patient person, but kami, some one had better let her out soon! She paced again looking up at the 'so exciting' ceiling. Something flickered past the vent in the ceiling. What was that!? Something crawling around in the vents? She considered it for a moment, but curiosity got the better of her. Besides, anything would be better than staying here for kami knows how long. She 'had' to know what that was, and besides, it could be something dangerous and as her first duty as an elite she would stop whatever it was. Well, she wasn't exactly an elite yet, but…  
  
Buruma floated up towards the vent and tugged at it by the hinges discarding it to the floor. Peeking her head in, she looked down the endless ventilation tunnels. She shivered from the cool air but never the less climbed into the tunnel. It was a tight fit, even for her. Most saiyins, even the females, were large in build, but not Buruma. No, she had to be the smallest saiyin with the freakishly blue hair. Sigh. She was just glad that her parents hadn't decided to destroy her. Not that anyone could catch her now; she was the fastest saiyin alive. Well, so she was told.  
  
After a few feet of squirming, she heard a scratching from straight-ahead. She crawled ahead and noticed a light coming in up ahead. Must be another vent opening. Looking down through the vent she saw two saiyins going at it in a training room. It was the one she had been in to test her strength in combat. She felt sorry for the guy who was fighting; he was unlucky enough to be paired with Nappa. No doubt he was a great fighter, but he was also a tyrant and talk about dull witted. She doubted he knew two times two.  
  
Farther up she came across another vent and peered down into a gigantic lavishly decorated room. It must be the king's room. Wait. No. She had learned that the king's room was farther down the way during her briefing about the castle this morning. So… this had to be the prince's room.  
  
A movement down below caught her eye. There was someone sleeping on the bed! Vegeta! The prince was back? Why hadn't anyone been told?  
  
And then she went blank.  
  
  
  
  
  
Vegeta stood from his bed and looked down at the heap of rubble on the floor. He had heard something and on instinct had fired forgetting where he was. Who would be crawling around in the vents? He huffed. Did his father or Freeza set a spy on him? He walked closer to the heap and saw something blue flicker in some dust. His eyebrow quirked and he reached out the grab it. The thing wriggled against his palm. It's a tail. Kami, it's a blue tail!  
  
  
  
Buruma's eyes fluttered open; she couldn't place where she was, but someone was touching her tail. That was not a good idea. "Let. Go. Of. My. Tail!" She heaved up and emerged from under the rubble.  
  
"My my, aren't we a bit touchy?" His voice rasped.  
  
She quickly wrapped her tail around her waist. "Well, I'm sorry, but…" Her voice fell away as she looked at the person before her. He was fairly short, but still taller than her, heavily built, tone, deep dark eyes, and a tower of flame like hair. Gods, he was gorgeous.  
  
"But what?" He said obviously amused.  
  
"Vegeta?" He was the spitting image of his father.  
  
"You will address me as Vegeta No Ouji, onna."  
  
"Buruma."  
  
"What?"  
  
"My name is Buruma."  
  
"I don't care."  
  
"Well, if you don't care about my name, I don't care about yours. Vegeta." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him her best glare.  
  
"Well, onna." He said putting emphasis on the last word. "Would you like to explain what you were doing spying on me?"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"Don't play stupid, onna,"  
  
"My name is Buruma!"  
  
  
  
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AN: Sorry to any who were waiting on me, but writer's block is really….eh. Well, Buruma and Veggie meet for the first time. I promise more sparks in the next chapter *evil grin *. But don't forget to Review Review Review Review!!!!!  
  
  
  
Oh, and please don't flame about how I choose to spell some of the characters' names. In this one I used the Japanese spelling of Bulma's name, okay? And thanks Mirai for saying that in your review. I appreciated it.  
  
Oh, and as for other stories to came out, just to brief you, I'm going to start another B/V and one Crono Trigger and DBZ crossover. Mr. Toriyama had a hand in creating Crono Trigger so I thought the two would go together nicely. And before I end the other's note, REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	3. Strange Colored Tail

In the End  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ ….yada yada….you should get the point by now.  
  
  
  
  
  
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"What are you doing here? Did someone send you here as a spy?" The prince's voice was loud and agitated.  
  
"Spy? Hah. Why would I do such a thing."  
  
"You wouldn't have a choice if you were ordered to do so. Maybe my father sent you. Or even that bastard of a lizard." His eyes glared into her hers searching them.  
  
She smirked glad that he thought as much of the tyrant as she did. "Hmph. I wasn't doing anything of the sorts. Besides, I'm a saiyin. I despise him as much as you seem to."  
  
"Oh, I'd say it goes past more the despising." A smirk slid across his face. "So were you just trying to sneak a peek?"  
  
"At what?" Then it hit her as he perked his royal saiyin brow. "At you!? Don't flatter yourself!"  
  
"Then what pray tell, were you doing in the damn ventilation!?"  
  
"Well…"  
  
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"  
  
"It's none of your business!"  
  
"None of my business! You crashed through the blasted ceiling in my room!"  
  
It was quit a sight, the both of them. They were nearly nose to nose with their tails flailing out behind them. And that's what the guard thought when he walked into the room.  
  
"Um….sire. Oh. I'm. Uh sorry. I didn't know you were entertaining a lady, Prince Vegeta." He bowed quickly and was about to leave.  
  
"Don't fool yourself. I'd never be caught dead with this female."  
  
Bulma looked like she was about to explode right there. The guard looked quizzically at Vegeta. He couldn't figure out why he wouldn't want this female. She looked perfectly healthy, and Kami, look at that gorgeous tail. Blue? Kami! That was Bulma! What was she doing in the prince's room!? "Bulma! What the hell do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be in the room awaiting your final results."  
  
"You've got to be kidding." Vegeta gapped. "This little weakling female is training to be an elite. She hasn't got a chance."  
  
"What!? I do so!"  
  
"Bulma! Calm yourself. That's no way to treat the prince. You know he could easily blast you to the next moon."  
  
She stood shaking in the attempt to regain control of the raging urge to swipe that smirk right off his royal face.  
  
"That's right, woman." He smiled down at her in triumph.  
  
"But Prince Vegeta, she did manage to pass the test and is going to be inducted to the class of elite." He grimaced at the anger building in Vegeta's eyes and hid reluctantly behind his clipboard.  
  
"What!"  
  
"Yes! I knew I would make it!" Bulma began to jump up and down excitedly.  
  
Vegeta stared at the giddy female saiyin in utter horror. "Has the saiyin race fallen into such complete disaster while I was gone to accept a weakling female?"  
  
"Well, she isn't very strong but has unquestionably maxed out in the areas of speed and intelligence." The guard flipped quickly through the sheets of the clipboard as if to confirm.  
  
"Give me that." Vegeta snatched the clipboard from the shaking guard's hand and flipped through the pages. "This is unbelievable."  
  
Bulma crept up to stand beside Vegeta to take a look at her scores, and crooned in his ear, "Isn't it?" She giggled and backed away as he turned to glare at her.  
  
"Guard. Get her out of my sight." He threw the clipboard at the guard and fell to his bed as they exited.  
  
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"What the hell do you think you were doing in there soldier. You do know that the prince has blasted people for disregarding him like that." He gripped her arm dragging her down the main hall and a few guards that turned to stare at the two. Well, mainly Bulma.  
  
"He didn't look so tough to me." She was bluffing of course. Vegeta had the body of a god and when she stood near him she could feel the energy radiating from his body. To bad he acted like such a bastard. Kami, she could use a boyfriend.  
  
"Bulma!"  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Did you hear what I was saying?"  
  
"Um…"  
  
"I didn't think so. If I wasn't on such good terms with your father…." He grumbled.  
  
"I know. I know. So, where are you taking me?"  
  
"Well if you would have listened to me earlier, I was telling you that since you scored rather low in the area of strength but so high in agility and intellect that the king must review you before you are officially raised to the rank of elite." He breathed in slowly. "Understand?"  
  
"So I might not make it?" She puckered up her lips and pouted.  
  
"Ugh. Don't make that face…it's so…."  
  
"Cute?" She smiled innocently.  
  
He growled. "Stop playing around! Look. There's the door to the King's Hall. He's waiting to interview you. Now hurry up and get going." He pushed her forward and through the doors.  
  
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The king's hall was enormous to a being her size, but her instincts told her not to dare cower before such intimidation. Besides, the king was here and if she screwed this up she'd never become an elite. The doors shut closed behind her, and she padded slowly forward on the carpet laid out on the stone floors. Her eyes were drawn to the lavishly done walls that lined the room far out from her. There was an ornate tapestry that scaled the length of the hall depicting the history of the saiyin race from the Break War. The war that started the glorious rise of the saiyins when they defeated those little weaklings. It portrayed her ancestors coming forth from the barren lands and rushing upon the city. The endless battle was the waged for months, and then the transformation of all the saiyins into the huge brutes of war. They had won. Only the strong survive. That's what she had been taught since she was a little babe primate, but she wasn't that strong and had survived so far. Wasn't it her incredible speed and wit that was saving her now? It's a pity though, she thought as she looked upon the last remains of the tapestry that pictured the crowning of the first king, maybe they should have sparred a few of those weaklings. They did have superior knowledge, even though she was probably be the only one to ever admit it. They could have provided the saiyins with that knowledge and there wouldn't be any need for her race to lower themselves to the duty of purging planets in exchange for technology. Then perhaps they could have avoided the whole trudge with Frieza. They could have become stronger and smarter. They might have had a chance to defeat that brute. Sigh. Dammit.  
  
She came to the end of the long carpet and stood a few feet away from the king. Kami, he looked just like Vegeta with the flame like hair. But the king had a small goatee that was kept very well trimmed about his chin and was noticeably taller.  
  
In the formal fashion she crossed her arm over her chest and bowed to her superior. Her king. "King Vegeta."  
  
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The king looked down from his thrown at the to be elite. Oh? It was a female? Strange he didn't get many of those from the elite trials. He looked down at the charts in his lap. True, this female was exceptionally intelligent. She would do well to be put in the scientific quadrant, but her agility was phenomenal as well. Her speed would make her especially well of for any stealth missions, and they were particularly lacking in that area at the moment. True, saiyins were known for their more frontal attacks, but they could gain something from a stealth squad. Yes, she would do quite well as an elite. Perhaps, she could also double as a scientist. These charts show her father is the head research in lab seventeen. But, there was something not on the charts that caught the attention of the king.  
  
He looked up from the charts at a skittish looking Bulma by the way the end of her tail was flicking. "Well, your charts show me that you would be an efficient addition to the elite force. We could use your intelligence and speed. I will defiantly make you apart of the elite force."  
  
Bulma let out a sigh and a smile was all she would show of her excitement.  
  
He smiled at her reaction. She would be very helpful if she was this excited about joining. "But please tell me, how did you come about that color?"  
  
"M..my color?" She stared at him quizzically.  
  
"I had been informed about your color, but I didn't quite believe it till you were standing before me. So tell me. Why are you…blue?"  
  
"Oh!" She smiled and let out a chuckle. "Seems I'm the only one used to my color. But I thought the reports would have explained it. I was born as a defect." Bulma nearly sneered at that word. 'Defect'. It made her sound so lowly, but look at her now. Becoming a member of the elites. As her father always said, 'you're just special.'  
  
"Defect." The king said thoughtfully. "Then why were you not destroyed?"  
  
"Well, it seems my father was a bit curious at how I'd turn out. He is a scientist as you probably know."  
  
"Yes, yes. I see. Well, be glad your father did what he did. You should become very valuable to us."  
  
"I shall try my best." She saluted again and turned to leave.  
  
"One more question."  
  
"Oh." She turned nervously back around. "I'm so sorry. What is it?" She tried to hide her embarrassment. She didn't want to mess up the rest of her interview.  
  
"Your coloring is very unique and I assume it would be very catching to a male's eye." His gazed wandered to the guards to the side whose usual stead forward gaze had turned slightly so they could get a better view of the exotic female who stood before them. Though, the majorities turned away when they caught the king's glance a few still risked peeks out the corners of their eyes.  
  
She was a bit nervous about this question. It was no doubt that males stared at her, or more likely goggled as she saw the state of the soldiers. It wasn't her fault she had such a beautiful color. "Um, yes sir."  
  
"Then tell me," he inquired, "do you happen to have a mate?"  
  
"Oh. No, I happen to be single at the moment." She couldn't understand why the king would be asking about her personal life. Why did he care if she had a mate or not?  
  
He couldn't…No there's no way the king would be interested in her. Though, the queen had been long since dead. Not that she had anything against the king, but he was so old!  
  
"And you don't have a personal interest in anyone?"  
  
"No."  
  
He smiled slyly. "Wonderful. Well then, you may be dismissed."  
  
Bulma saluted and was escorted from the king's hall. Wonderful? What did he mean by that?  
  
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AN: Yes, what did the king mean by that? ^_^ Anyways as some of you might notice I've changed a few things. First I changed Buruma to Bulma. That's just the one I decided I liked. And a few other spellings and such, but I'll let you figure it out. ^_^  
  
Oh yeah! I'm also going to start responding to my reviews! I've seen it done by some other writer's and I think it's a great idea ^_^ So all the better to leave a review, right?  
  
Oh yeah, these are all the reviewers for chapter 2 ^_^  
  
  
  
Super girl: Thanks ^_^ Don't worry, I'm hurrying.  
  
christabeleve: ^_^ Yeah, my fave stories have Bulma as a saiyin ^_^  
  
Black Panther: *Blushes * I always try to post as soon as possible ^_^  
  
  
  
Oh, I'd also like to draw attention to one of my other stories. It's called Parallel Personas and I think its one of my better writings. It's a DBZ and Chrono Trigger crossover. For those of you who don't know Chrono Trigger is a video game made a while ago but was re-released and Akira Toriyama did all the character designs. So I thought, wouldn't that make a great crossover! So go check it out, and don't forget to REVIEW!!!!!!!! 


	4. Blue woman meets large brute

1 In the End  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
  
The king waited patiently as the little blue elite exited the hall. He smirked as he realized he had been watching the feminine sway of her hips, and shook his head knowing he was far to old in age to be eyeing such a young female. Although… Oh yes, it was about that time wasn't it? So he supposed he wasn't so old after all. He chuckled. "Guard. Send for Prince Vegeta. Immediately."  
  
"Yes, sir." The guard saluted and trotted off to send the message.  
  
"Oh, and guard." The guard halted.  
  
"Yes, sir?"  
  
"Tell him I don't care if he's sleeping or not."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
The king sighed. His son was terribly grumpy when being awoken, and had the bad habit of killing the messenger.  
  
  
  
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Bulma stepped outside the hall door and damn near exploded. "Yes! Hah! I knew it!" She scrunched up in a ball and then jumped up as high as she could, with out the use of ki ofcourse. Sadly, she had learned that lesson long ago. That didn't matter now, though. She was an elite! She had finally proved everyone wrong. No one could call her weak anymore! Well…sort of. She was at least strong in mind! More than a lot of the other baka saiyins could say. Her last train of thought had stopped her bouncing around and she now noticed the score of burly saiyin guards staring at her. She squirmed under the gaze of a few whose look was more of lust than the scrutinizing glare for her sudden outburst.  
  
Her posture firmed and muscles flexed as one of the onlookers stepped forward.  
  
"Umm..Elite Bulma?"  
  
"Yes." She smiled at the uncertainty in his eyes. Well, at least he was brave enough to step forward.  
  
"I am to escort you to your room." He smiled politely and lifted his eyebrows in hopes she would agree to follow him. Not that he was eyeing her the way the others were.  
  
"Well, then lets go."  
  
"Yes. Follow me." He turned and walked down the long hallway from which she had come earlier.  
  
She followed. "So where exactly are the elite rooms."  
  
"A little further. The elite rooms are kept close to the king's and prince's room for security reasons. You'll probably be assigned as a private guard to the king or maybe the prince if he ever returns." The guard sighed and stopped suddenly at a doorway.  
  
"If he returns? But he's…."  
  
"Well, well! What do we have here! Is this the mistress I asked for?" Bulma cringed as her sentence was interrupted by a loud lethargic voice, and she turned slowly to see a tower of flesh decked in armor topped by a bald head with eyes that looked her up and down like a butcher would to cattle.  
  
"Oh, elite Nappa. This is…"  
  
"Kami. She's blue!" He threw his head up a laughed hardily. "Oh well. I don't care, just as long as she's a good--"  
  
"A good what!? Listen here you bastard!" She puffed up and poked a finger at his chest, which was a good distance above her head. "If you think that I'm some kind of whore, you are wrong!" By now the large brute had stopped his speech and was looking down on the small saiyin as if she were insane. "Who do you think you are anyway! Some kind of--"  
  
"Whoa." The guard quickly stepped forward and placed a hand on Bulma's shoulder.  
  
She turned her head and her eyes flared. "What!?"  
  
The guard smiled reluctantly and pushed himself between the fiery female and the brute that was slowly growing angry. "Um, Elite Bulma this is Elite Nappa. I'm sure this is all just some misunderstanding…" He smiled again cringing on the inside.  
  
"This freakishly colored female is an elite!? Why haven't I seen her before?"  
  
"Freakish! You overgrown tower of--!"  
  
The guard hastily placed a hand over Bulma's mouth, but didn't help much as her muffled insults continued to brush against his hand. "Now, now you two." He began to push Bulma backward towards the doorway.  
  
"Out of the way third class!" A large hand grabbed the soldier's spiky head and threw him against the wall. "No female is going to insult me and get away with it. There's only one thing they're good for!" He rushed at Bulma. She quickly sped out of the way. "Don't you dare lay one of your grimy fingers on me! Not that you could ever catch me!" She stuck her tongue out at the barbarian taunting him to try again.  
  
"Hah! You think you're so fast! Let's see!" He lunged at her again but failed.  
  
"I told you! Now back off!" She hovered a foot off the ground ready for his next attempt.  
  
"You're fast but I doubt you're very strong." He smiled evilly and powered up sending out a wave of energy that flung Bulma up against the wall. He then walked over to the female who was absently rubbing her head that had impacted the wall. "Weak! I'll make you know your place!"  
  
Bulma watched in horror as a gigantic hand descended down on her. She tried to move but felt a wave of dizziness and could only put up a small and useless ki shield. As blackness flooded her eyes she saw Nappa come down closer and closer and…  
  
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Bulma gasped and started from her sleep with a jolt. She glanced around at her surroundings and couldn't comprehend where she was. The room was a murky grey framed by steel beams, as most of the palace rooms where except the royal rooms, but bunk beds scaled the length of the walls. Slowly, the past events returned to her drawling memory and she shuddered in the fear and panic that slowly increased as she felt the all-to-real pain sling shot around in every part of her anatomy. She tried to move her limbs, for her body was telling her to flee as soon as possible, but she uselessly fell back unto the well-worn mattress. Oh Kami! Her mind screamed and her belly lurched as her sensitive nose picked up a scent in the air. The unmistakable scent of a male, no men, and it was unutterably strong all around her and on her. No! No! NO! It couldn't be! That monster had raped her? No! Her thoughts raced to try and disprove her conclusion. This couldn't have happened! Wait. Breathe Bulma. Her hands moved slowly down to her waist and then further inbetween her thighs. She squeezed her eyes shut and a few tears dribbled out. She almost couldn't believe it, as she let out the breath she had been holding and her chest heaved.  
  
Her clothes were still intact. The monster hadn't touched her. There. She sneered and thought that the bastard wouldn't have enough decency to take her on a bed, but probably would have gone down on her right there in the hallway. Why hadn't he taken her in the hallway? She shivered and wrapped her arms around her small frame and curled up as tightly as she could in a ball. It wasn't the best idea, but her body just wouldn't allow her to move right now, and she didn't think her mind would work well with the headache that was pounding inside her skull. Suddenly, she caught a whiff of a male scent drifting towards her and on instinct her muscles tightened ready to defend to the death at any cost.  
  
The guard that had recently escorted her stepped in threw a doorway that Bulma began staring at intensely. He grinned seeing she had wakened and walked up closer to her. "Good you're up." He shuffled what looked like a towel in his hand and moved to sit next to the balled up saiyin. "Are you cold?" A growl threateningly rumbled from Bulma's throat and he stopped his movements frowning as he side eyed her tail, surprised to see the hair standing out on end. "Don't worry Bulma-san. I won't hurt you. I was just coming to see if you were okay." He smiled trying to reassure her. "You are okay, right?"  
  
After searching him hard with her eyes for a minute or two she decided his intentions were true, and besides, who could not believe that child like grin he always sported? "I'm fine." She uncurled out of her ball and relaxed as the soldier sank down into the mattress. "But where am I and what the hell happened?" He timidly reached to exam her arm and proceeded when she didn't protest. "And who are you?"  
  
He chuckled using a towel to touch up on some bruises. "This is the quarters for the male guards. No one's here right now because it's routine time for training."  
  
Bulma sighed once more. That explained the smell. "Won't you get in trouble for not training?"  
  
He smirked. "No. Don't worry about me. I slotted my training earlier this morning. I like having the nights off." He pulled a salve from his pocket and gloped and bit on his palm and proceeded to rub it on her arms.  
  
"Oh." She yawned as the soldier's hands massaged her sore muscles. "Wait. What time is it? How long have I been out?"  
  
"Hmmm. Let's see. It's about an hour till the first sun set, so…about five hours." He left the bed and vanished in the doorway rummaging behind it.  
  
"Kami…What the hell happened to that damned baka?" Her voice riveted of anger and the deepest hate. The next time she saw that goliath she was going to claw his eyes out.  
  
"Oh. I took care of him. Don't worry. He won't touch you again." His voice sounded eerily serious from the normal cheery upbeat tone.  
  
"Thank you very much. I hope you made him pay."  
  
"You're welcome and don't worry. I believe he received what he deserved. It makes me sick sometimes to see the elites act so vulgar. I mean just because they're of a higher rank doesn't mean they can … do things like that." He emerged from the doorway again with a small metal mechanism and waved it over the azure colored female. "Well, the scanner says you're okay. Can you move now? The salve should be working."  
  
Bulma tried once again to move her injured body and was surprised that her stubborn anatomy agreed to respond as she made the motions to sit upright on the bed. "I owe you my life you know."  
  
"No. It was just my duty to protect you. I wouldn't be much of a soldier if I couldn't do that."  
  
"You could have just left. I mean the beast is your superior, but you stayed and you even took the time to look after me. Most men would have just thought nothing of it. I mean I am just a weak female." Her shoulders fell at the last statement. Wasn't it true? She couldn't even protect herself.  
  
He stepped forward to Bulma and rested a reassuring hand and her shoulder. "No. You're strong because you didn't let him. You stood up to a mountain, and that makes you as true and as strong as any saiyin." He smiled as she looked up at him with teary blue eyes.  
  
"Thank you again. I don't even know your name."  
  
"Just call me Kakarrot, k?" His face was so sincere should couldn't help the smile that formed from her lips.  
  
"Alright, Kakarrot. You are truly a great man."  
  
"Heh." He blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well come on I've got to get you to your quarters. I'm sure all your belongings are already there." With that, he helped her up and escorted Bulma out and to the female chambers.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
Bulma couldn't believe the size of her knew living quarters. They were gigantic! The carpet was a lush red, that of course was meant to remind her of war and of blood, there was a four poster bed topped with a mound of pillows, an enormous dresser big enough to sate even her tastes, and a luxurious bathroom. Defiantly an improvement from her small space near her father's lab! "I just can't believe this Kakarrot. Look at this!" She flung herself onto the bed bouncing lightly. "I had know idea I'd be getting such treatment. I feel like a princess."  
  
Kakarrot couldn't help but be happy for Bulma. She hadn't exactly had the best home warming and was glad she could find something to take her mind off the past events. "I'm glad you like it. It really is nice." He took his time to look around. "But you know you deserve it."  
  
"Thanks. You know I wonder what I'll be doing tomorrow? You said I'd probably be assigned as a private guard to the king?"  
  
"Yes. You should be receiving the information tomorrow. I'm a guard in this wing so you might see me a few times. If you ever have any questions just ask me, or if you ever just want to talk." He hinted at the last phrase seeing as a soldier's life took the turn at being rather boring sometimes.  
  
"I'd be glad to come and visit with you. Your sleeping quarters are just down the hall, right? Where we came from?"  
  
He nodded. "Well, it's getting late. I guess I'll leave you to yourself now. Have a good rest, okay?" Waiting till Bulma reassured him that she'd do just that, he left the room promising to close them as tight as he could. The thought of having the events before play out again ebbed at Bulma's mind as she securely bolted the doors and returned to her bed falling wearily to sleep.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
As usual the lowly third class guards were slacking off as the second sun had set and the moon slowly rose, chatting about the days events or some past battle that had taken place long ago on desert plains. Some casually leaned against the wall nodding off now and then, tonight being the late shift, and so no one noticed or gave a second thought when they glanced the towering saiyin lumbering towards the elite women's quarters that was strictly forbidden considering the time of year. No one saw him near the doorway and bypass the access code to the newest member of the elites. No one saw him push open the door to the slumbering Bulma's room and the oh-so- evil smile the slid onto his face contorted with the worst intentions. He'd show her what her place was. No weak female deserved to be a member of the elite group, and he'd show her… he'd show her…and no one heard the slightest click as the door slid shut.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
AN: I know, I know. I'm evil. ^_^ *covers little devil horns *  
  
Reviewers  
  
Sorceress Fujin: THANKS! ^_^  
  
Saturn-hime: Thanks, I'll be sure and drop by and read that.  
  
Re-o-ko: Sorry, didn't reveal what the king will do in this one, but later I promise! ^_^  
  
Thank you all for reviewing! And for the rest of you who haven't…get to it! REVIEW! Come on, everyone's doing it! -_^ 


	5. Restless night

In the End  
  
Chapter 5: Restless Night  
  
  
  
  
  
A timid knock was muffled behind the prince's door. The soldier ordered to inform the prince of the king's request to see him had been tapping for the past ten minutes hoping the prince didn't occupy the room, but if he failed to bring him to the king… The soldier breathed deeply and pounded on the door, and his worst fear was met as he heard a threatening growl from inside. The prince was awake and did not sound pleased at all.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Vegeta had tolerated the first ten minutes of rapping on his door simply by placing a pillow over his head, but soon with the of passing time, his sensitive ears picked up the muffled rhythm, and he couldn't ignore the constant noise that pricked at his mind. Who the hell was stupid enough to interrupt the prince of the saiyin race while he was sleeping!? The noise increased and he growled loudly hoping to scare off the idiot, but no, the baffoon had to knock again even louder! Vegeta's hands clamped around the pillow ripping the noise barrier to shreds. 'I'm going to kill the idiot.'  
  
Wearily, Vegeta slid of his bed and readjusted his battle armor, which he had been to exhausted to take off, and thundered towards the door wildly throwing it open. He held up a palm to the surprised guard's face and slowly drew out a small ball of ki that steadily became ever brighter. "You have ten seconds to tell me what you want and to get out of my face. Nine…eight…"  
  
The guard froze and then hurriedly tried to spill out whatever he could before his temperamental prince blasted him to the next dimension. "Uh…King w..wishestoseeyousir!" As fast as his boots would take him, the guard ran away as fast as he could manage.  
  
Vegeta smirked and lowered his hand pleased that his people had not forgotten how terrifying he could be, but his smirk quickly diminished as he registered what the blundering guard had said. He had to meet his father. What could he want that was so important to wake him from his rest! Of course it wasn't a big deal that he had just returned from Freeza's ship hours ago without having slept for three days!  
  
Like hell he was going! Promptly, the prince returned to his bed and drifted to sleep. Only after a few minutes had pasted, his chaos filled dreams were interrupted by as soft shuffling skitter. Immediately, the prince flashed from his sleeping state to an alert stance underneath his covers with a ki ball drawn and ready to be thrown at the first sign of an intruder. His onyx eyes narrowed and scanned the room but could not detect an enemy, but his ever so sensitive ears again caught the rustle of the heap of rubble sifting in the middle of his room. "Damn woman." He mumbled and was about to plummet back into the depths of his unpleasant slumber but the pile began to stir continuously arousing the prince's curiosity. Was something trapped in there? Hiding? He slid off the enormous bed and padded over to the heap in the middle of his room and took a step back as a cloud of dust spouted from the center and he almost jumped as a grey-ish blur sped to the side of him. "What the?"  
  
He watched patiently following the 'thing' as it zigzagged about his room, and the prince waited not knowing what to do but hoping it would stop before the vein in his forehead exploded. This little toy was running haphazardly around his room emitting some sort of buzzing noise that caused Vegeta to grate his teeth. Was it 'lets annoy the prince till his head bursts' day!? Was this punishment for all the lives he had taken!? Without a second thought the saiyin lifted a finger and shot a small energy towards the bug that flew around his room and huffed as it fell with a thud to his floor. How it had managed to climb to his ceiling he didn't know, but as he stepped closer to the twitching 'bug' he saw that it was a small machine of some sort. He sniffed at the air around the machine and frowned. There wasn't an exact scent on it. He bent closer to the thing and nudged it with his gloved hand. It flipped over to its back displaying a small insignia of the letters FMRC. Vegeta sneered. "Freeza's Mechanical Research Center." His words sounded of the utmost disgust as he spit out the words.  
  
FMRC was one Freeza's attempt to build a more powerful army. Over the years Vegeta had gathered the most prestigious scientists from the planets he had purged and handed them over to the tyrant. "You see monkey boy. It seems I can't rely on your pathetic race to increase my forces. I'll have to find other means since you apes can't even purge the assigned planet in the allotted amount of time. Won't that be grand? To have a few machines replace you?" He shuddered at the memory of the lizard's laugh that lingered in his memory, but smirked regardless. None of the scientists had invented anything powerful enough to Freeza's liking but had created an advanced line of spying mechanisms sly enough for the cold-hearted bastard.  
  
So Vegeta had been right, and so had that little female. Someone was noising his or her way into his business and he didn't like that at all. He'd have to question the loud mouthed female about what she knew of this little mechanical spy, but that would wait till later. Now, he would sleep.  
  
Finally.  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
"VEGETA!!!! What the hell do you think you're doing!? I sent for you half an hour ago." The COM. Screen in the prince's room had bleeped on and a now angry king glared at the form of his son, still dressed in his battle suit, sprawled across his bed.  
  
Vegeta groaned. "Well, I was sleeping but it seems the gods have decided to play 'screw around with Vegeta' when all he's trying to do is get some rest!"  
  
"I don't really care how tired you are. I have some informatio….Vegeta?"  
  
The prince didn't bother to even lift his head that was buried in his pillow and muffled out a, "what?"  
  
"What the hell happened?" The king arched his eyebrow staring down at the debris that decorated the floor.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"You didn't blast another guard, did you?" The king tried to remember the name of the guard so that he might send the word to his family.  
  
"What are you tal…Oh, that mess." Vegeta turned upwards on his bed so that his back rested against the mattress. "It's….nothing." He placed his hands behind his head and sighed knowing there was no way in hell he was going to get any sleep tonight.  
  
"Vegeta." The king's voice warned wanting a full explanation of why it looked like a few toddler saiyins had rampaged their way through his son's room.  
  
"Well," the prince tried to think of the shortest way possible to explain the whole mess, "First some woman crashed through my ceiling, and then…"  
  
"What? What woman?"  
  
"I don't know. Some female who claimed that she was an elite."  
  
"She had blue hair correct?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. She was strangely colored." Vegeta's thoughts wandered back to the aqua colored female who had fallen through his ceiling. She was quite attractive…  
  
"Brat! No one is supposed to know you're here except the few guards I have assigned to you!"  
  
"So what if one weakling female knows I'm here on leave. If you don't want her to talk then simply dispose of her." It really was the simplest solution to any problem. If anything or anyone got in your way just blast them. Vegeta had been practically raised on this idea and firmly abided by it.  
  
"No. I can't."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"She has a special quality that we can use."  
  
Vegeta shifted lying on his side as he stared skeptically at the COM. across the room. "Such as?"  
  
"That is of no importance to you. Now, what else happened?"  
  
"Then some blasted mechanism started running around the room, so I blasted it. It's from Freeza's lab."  
  
"Oh yes. I was wondering where that got to." The king searched the floor with his eyes till they reached what remained of the spy gadget.  
  
"You know what this is?"  
  
"Ofcourse. One of Freeza's scientists stopped by while you were dropped off and is doing some research with some of our own scientists. He said he had a message for you."  
  
Vegeta simply humphed and closed his eyes. He was hoping he wouldn't have to think about that tyrant while he was on his home planet, but that was on false hopes. Freeza's mark was everywhere.  
  
"Enough chatter. I'm sending you on a mission tomorrow. You will leave at early afternoon."  
  
"You must be mistaken father. I'm not going anywhere."  
  
"No you are mistaken, brat. Just because you just returned here doesn't mean you will shirk your duties as prince. You will complete this mission." With that the COM screen flickered and faded away leaving a disgruntled prince ready and willing to obliterate the next moving thing in view.  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
"AHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Bulma screamed as loud as she could seeing that as her only defense against the towering saiyin who had her gripped in his hands. "Let go of me you bastard!" She flailed her legs against the brute but all he did was laugh at her attempts.  
  
"You think you can hurt me? Hah! You weakling! I'll let you know your place." His smile was sickening and she could feel her stomach churn. She didn't know if it was from the malicious look on her face or knowing what he was going to do to her if she let him continue. She wouldn't be taken like this! She had to think of something to do, but what could she do? Without giving her time to think out a possible attack, Nappa forced the frail elite to the bed and almost crushed her as he pushed all his weight against her. His face moved deathly close to hers and she held her breath fearing the worst. This was it.  
  
"I can smell your fear, woman. You should be afraid." She felt his breath tickle against her neck and she felt a ball rise up from her stomach.  
  
Not like this! Not like this! Do something! Her mind screamed at her to do something, so she did the only thing she could. Leaning forward she took in the deepest breath she could swallow and pushed out the loudest piercing high-pitched screech she could into the ogre's ear.  
  
Nappa squeezed his eyes shut and backed away from the noise. The deafening ear splitting noise! "You bitch! How dare you!" But he couldn't even hear the words that spouted from his mouth. All he could hear was the ringing that pounded in his head.  
  
Bulma didn't waste her time as she scrambled towards the door to her room and reached for the handle only to be jolted back.  
  
The door flew open revealing a truly pissed off saiyin prince. "WHAT IN ALL FREEZA'S HELL BOUND EMPIRE IS THAT NOISE!!!!!!!!"  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
AN: I don't think that was too much of a cliffhanger, do you? ^_^ Sorry for not updating for a while but school's winding down and I have tons of tests, band audition, and art projects to complete. You know how it is. ^_^  
  
  
  
To the Reviewers:  
  
Re-o-ko: Thanks ^_^  
  
Empress Sarah-sama: Well he didn't end up doing anything to her. ^_^ I just couldn't do it.  
  
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Sorceress Fujin: Thanks! ^_^  
  
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Don't forget to REVIEW!!!!!! 


	6. Almost Time for Take-Off!

In The End  
  
Chapter 6: Almost Time For Take-Off  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Bulma's eyes widened and she could feel the tears well up inside of her. Dammit! She had almost made it out of the nightmare and there stood her barrier. He may be the prince of her entire race, but damn him to the seven hells!  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
Vegeta stood in the doorway fuming. His eyes darted down to the female on the ground. It was that woman from earlier today. How the hell could one weakling onna cause so much trouble in one day! He contemplated stomping over to the female and ripping her vocal chords out, but out of the corner of his eye he saw what looked like a fleshy mound teetering back and forth. "What the hell? You there. In the corner. Show yourself before I blast your worthless body out of the atmosphere!" The mound didn't move. "I'm warning you…"  
  
Something tugged at his suit. He looked down to see the female huddling to his form and wrapping her arms around his leg. He tried to shake her off. "Woman…"  
  
"I don't think he can hear you." She whispered for only his ears.  
  
"What!?"  
  
"I screamed. In his ear…really loud." Her voice rasped as she stared straight out in front of her.  
  
"You…wha?" Finally, he thought about the situation at hand. There was a woman on the ground on the brink of tears, who had recently been screaming her head off, and someone else who from the outline in the shadows seemed to be a male. The prince growled and raised his hand to form a small ki ball. How unutterly disgraceful. Any saiyin that could stoop to such a low act as to force himself upon a female deserved to die. Being in the presence of such a creature made him ill. The ball of energy grew larger in his palm and a pool of light spread throughout the room, and soon Vegeta could see the unmistakable form of a man stooped over and cupping his hands around his head. "Nappa!?" He might have expected this from a third class, but his own soldier? An elite!  
  
The brute slouched on the floor and finally let his hands fall away as the ringing in his ears subsided. He hadn't considered killing the wench before hand, but now he was going to rip her spine from that worthless weakling body. He looked up, for the first time, and light flooded into his eyes. Squinting, Nappa saw the silhouette of someone he gravely did not want to see: Prince Vegeta aiming a ki ball straight at his head. "P…prince Vegeta!"  
  
"Hold your tongue Nappa, and I may consider sparing you…for the moment." The prince could see the fear in his eyes. He could see the trembling and increased pulse in his veins. Normally, he would've enjoyed such a show, but he couldn't help feel anything but the utmost disgust for this 'thing' before him. He would have just blasted him, but his father usually dealt with the elites. "Nappa. What the hell were you doing in here? Never mind, I don't even have to ask. You know you are not allowed in the female quarters. Are you out of your shriveled saiyin mind!?"  
  
Nappa shakily stood and towered above the prince. "But Vegeta. We've just gotten back from Freeza's ship. You know I haven't had a woman in so long! Don't you know that it's begun? It's driving me insane!" He looked at his prince on hopes that he would understand.  
  
Mating season. Yes, Vegeta had completely forgotten about it. He and Nappa hadn't been on the planet in so long, but to let something such as that drive to rape? "You weakling! Just because you're in heat doesn't mean you can jump on any female."  
  
"But Vegeta…"  
  
"Enough. Have a slave ordered to your room if you must. I will see you at sunrise in my private training quarters before I leave for my mission. After I am done with you, you will not be allowed to use a regeneration unit. Understand? Now. Get out of my face." He couldn't really believe he had let the bastard go, but if Freeza found out he had killed one of his top soldiers…Damn that lizard!  
  
"Vege…Prince?" Bulma looked up at the small saiyin deep in thought.  
  
Vegeta gazed down at the female on the floor and frowned. He extended his hand down to her. "Up." He said gruffly.  
  
She didn't argue and grabbed the gloved hand that pulled her body up with feather ease. "Thank you."  
  
"Get some sleep." He huffed and turned to walk out the door.  
  
"Vegeta…"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Beat that bastard to a bloody pulp."  
  
"Heh. No need to worry about that." The prince closed the door behind him.  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
Bulma emerged from the steam of her shower and sighed lightly as she powered up to dry herself off. Last night had made her feel sickly and dirty. Disgusting. After her third shower, she felt rather cleansed, but still shuddered at the memory of that bastard with his hands on her and what could have happened. 'Come one Bulma. Don't do this to yourself.' Then she remembered that the prince would be pounding the monster black and blue by now, and a small smile filled her lips.  
  
But nothing would stand in her way today. It was her first full day as an elite and she'd be put on assignment today. She pulled on her blue spandex suit and armor. The outfit wasn't that appealing, but she could live with it. As he mind was going through ways to make the armor look more appealing, she heard a knock at the door. She rushed to answer it knowing that her assignment for the day was waiting on the other side.  
  
"Kakarrot? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Hey Bulma! I've got your assignment for today. Your voice sounds a little hoarse. You sick or something?" He leaned forward and looked at her curiously.  
  
"No, no. I just did a bit of screaming last night." She averted her eyes to the ground. She really didn't want to think of that situation again. Though, it did bring about a small sense of pride that she hurt the bastard saiyin in some way.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Well, Nappa decided he would visit my room last nigh—"  
  
"He what!?" The guard before her struggled to control his body quaking rage.  
  
"Wait. Don't jump to conclusions!" She reached out and put a hand on the tall man's shoulder. "He didn't do anything to me."  
  
Kakarrot took a deep breath and exhaled slouching his shoulders as he carefully looked over the fragile female. "Are you sure you're okay? Nothing happened?"  
  
She smiled at his concern. They had only met yesterday and he was acting as if he had known her all along. "The prince came in and took care of it."  
  
"Pr—prince Vegeta? Wow."  
  
She casually raised an eyebrow in question. "Why so surprised?"  
  
He laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, usually he just doesn't give a damn."  
  
"Oh. Well, right about now a bet Nappa is wishing he were never born. Vegeta is using him a punching bag this morning." She smiled and tried to visualize what kind of bone crushing moves the prince was laying on the monster.  
  
"Oh yeah! You know nobody is supposed to know that the prince is here, right?"  
  
"Yeah, so I heard. But why? And how would you know?" Bulma crossed her arms over her chest and looked the spiky haired man over. He was only a third class; he shouldn't know either. He was hiding something.  
  
"I…uh…just heard it from one of the elite guards, really!" He threw his arms out in front of him trying to push away all doubts, but the goofy grin on his face let the blue haired saiyin know something was amiss.  
  
"Right." The word purely of sarcasm, but he had saved her life and she thought she'd do him the favor and not pry. "So, what is my assignment?"  
  
"Oh right! Here you go." The guard handed over a small folder clearly marked with the letters: C-O-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L.  
  
She flipped open the cover and peered down at the papers and skimmed through the regular jargon and such until she found the paragraph that explained what she would be doing. "Ooooh Kami help me…."  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
The mechanical door hissed open and out strolled a short stalky man glazed over in a thin layer of sweat tugging at cuff of his glove. He turned his head slightly to a random guard that stood nearby. "Guard. In a few moments a bloody spineless bag of flesh will emerge from this door. Assist him in no way." The guard nodded curtly. "Oh, and get someone to clean up the mess he'll leave behind." Vegeta lifted a gloved fist to his face a looked over the scarlet knuckles to the guard and smirked. "He's awfully bloody." The prince walked down one of the many hallways towards his quarters. He'd be needing some new gloves.  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
Vegeta's COM screen flickered on in his room. "Vegeta? Vegeta! Where the hell is that brat…" The King's eyes scanned across his son's room and was glad that the mess from yesterday had been cleared away. "Brat!"  
  
"You know that really does get annoying." Vegeta, clothed in nothing but a towel, walked into the King's view.  
  
"What are you doing!? You know your mission is in one hour! Get down to the docks right away and bring your elite with you."  
  
"I've got time. Why don't you just brief me."  
  
"Fine. You will be going to investigate a planet that has come close to Planet Vegeta. Its gravity is a little above that of ours. Your mission is to see if it is in condition to be inhabited." The king smirked. "You think you can handle it?"  
  
"Feh. This is ridiculous. I'm back for one day and I'm on some assignment that a toddler could do." The prince grimaced as his tail tugged up at his towel.  
  
"Stop your whining. Be at the docks. Out." The COM screen flickered off.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Kakarrot rapped at the steel door and in a few moments it opened to reveal a fully dressed-for-battle Vegeta. "Kakarrot. I knew it would be you…"  
  
"Hey Vegeta. How's it going?" Kakarrot slapped an arm on the prince's shoulder.  
  
Vegeta growled. "Get your hand off me and stop being so informal."  
  
"Oh come on Vegeta. Loosen up." He smiled broadly at the shorter saiyin, but finally pulled his hand away when his 'friend' began to emit a low rumble from his throat. "Fine, fine." He threw his hands up in defeat.  
  
"Uh, guys." A small voice sounded from around the side of the door.  
  
Vegeta raised an eyebrow and stuck his head outside the door. "What the hell is she doing here!?"  
  
"OH yeah I forgot to mention. This is your elite. I see you've met her already. But since you're so keen on formalities: May I present Elite Bulma." He bowed low and tried to hide his smile.  
  
Bulma stepped forward and looked the two men over. Did…did they know each other. "Hi, um…do you two guys know each other?"  
  
Vegeta glared. "Kakarrot. That's why I told you not to address me so formally."  
  
"She was going to find out anyway. She's really smart you know." His eyes shifted between the two. "So, I hear you guys have a mission to do. So…I'll just be going now." He waved and quickly sped away before Vegeta bore a hole into him with his endless glaring.  
  
"So…." Bulma didn't know quite know what to say. "I guess I should thank you agai--"  
  
He held a hand up to silence her. "Quiet. We need to leave for the docks. Now." Turning from her, he lead the way down to the launching docks and Bulma followed.  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
AN: Alright. Next chapter Vegeta and Bulma head out into space. ^_^ Well, I just got out of school two days ago so I'll be updating a lot more on my fics. But, for the moment, I'll be gone on vacation for about a week.  
  
  
  
To the Reviewers:  
  
  
  
Sorceress Fujin: ^_^ Thanks!  
  
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Shadowmoon: Well, seems Bulma and Vegeta are going to get a lot closer on their mission. ^_^  
  
Re-o-ko: I promise there'll be romance very soon. ^_^  
  
Pheonix Feather: I think we all wish Nappa would drop dead. ^_^  
  
Bura-chan: Thanks. ^_^  
  
1 Princess Serenity Usagi Chiba: Thank you! ^_^  
  
(: Vegeta nice? Not quite yet. Well, I guess I made him a little considerate.  
  
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Alright! Now remember the more reviews I get the faster I update!!!!! So REVIEW!!!! 


	7. Blast Off!

In the End  
  
Chapter 7: Blast Off!  
  
  
  
Bulma gazed around the space docks as a disgruntled saiyin prince strode a few steps in front of her. The docks were crowded and bustled with activity. She could her the take off of spaced pods to the far side and in the distance by the distinct whoosh they made when exiting the gravity chambers. The walls, the ceiling, and the floor were composed of a polished metal that gave a smooth and sleek look very unsaiyin like. The whole universe noticed by now, due to Freeza's reign, that the saiyins were rough and rigid and could never produce the glassy room that bustled with saiyin, some who stood with thrashing tails seeing their flight delayed. This must have been built by some other race they had traded with, but she could remember what species it might be. Maybe those tall fellows who always shrouded themselves in those cloaks. What were their names?  
  
A rough and agitated voice broke Bulma away from her thoughts. "Woman! Stop day dreaming! We've got work to do." Vegeta stood with his arms crossed and tail whipping back and forth between his spread legs. Bulma chuckled at his apparent agitation, which quickly caused Vegeta to snarl. "What are you laughing at?"  
  
"Your tail." Is what she mustered to say in-between her giggles. The prince's face took on a look of confusion and then turned his head to look at his furry appendage. Frowning deeply he wrapped the ebony thing around his waist and muttered something derogatory under his breath.  
  
"Prince Vegeta." A saiyin waved from a dock to the side. "Your pod is ready for departure."  
  
Vegeta nodded curtly and motioned his blue haired partner to follow him. "Is the woman's pod ready?"  
  
The saiyin looked down at his clipboard and frowned. "I was informed that both of you would be taking the same pod."  
  
"What!?" He was to be stuck in a space so minutely small with her? No freakin' way. "Get another pod prepared."  
  
"Sorry sir, but all other pods at the moment are being used. You'll have to fly together."  
  
Bulma recognized the crazed look in the prince's eyes and decided to chirp in before things got out of hand. "Come on Vegeta. It won't be that bad." She batted her eyelashes at him. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
  
  
Bulma twiddled her thumbs in her lap and glanced up nervously at Vegeta every once in awhile. He had his arms crossed protectively over his chest and the usual grimace as he glanced outside the window of the space pod.  
  
"What is the matter with you?" The prince's eyes were now on her and held a curious gaze.  
  
Bulma looked up from her lap surprised. "Oh, I er."  
  
He glared at her. She stuttered just like one of his weakling guards.  
  
"I.I'veneverbeenonaspacepodbefore.." She quickly looked back down to her lap trying to conceal her embarrassment.  
  
There was a pause as Vegeta tried to register the mumble and jumble of words that poured out of her small mouth. ".You what!?" As if putting the period on the end of the sentence, the door to the space pod hissed shut and left the two saiyins cramped together.  
  
"It's no big deal I.I guess I'm just a little nervous." She kept her eyes locked on her lap and could feel the uneasy sensation grow in her stomach.  
  
"Tell me how a saiyin born and bred could never in their entire existence avoid being sent out into space?" Truly this was impossible, and he awaited to hear some truly amazing explanation.  
  
"Well you see, when I was little I failed the test to go into space because I was so weak.and still considered a defect.."  
  
"A defect?"  
  
"Yeah, you know.because of my coloring." Her hands clasped and unclasped in her lap becoming slightly clammy, and she tried to convince herself it was just because she was -nervous- and take off was soon to happen.  
  
His eyes followed up and down her huddled body and gave a knowing nod, not that he knew at all. She was a strange color. So what?  
  
"TAKE OFF WILL BEGIN IN TEN. CONFIRM FROM OCCUPANT."  
  
Vegeta huffed. Occupant. Damned things were only made for one person, but the woman was so small she fit across from him. Though their knees pushed up against each other. Uncrossing his arms he reached over and pushed a small read up button. Funny how all the important ones are red. This signaled that all was well inside the ship and the 'passenger' was ready for take off. He settled back into his small nook in the space pod.  
  
"CONFIRMATION SET. TAKE OFF COUNTDOWN WILL COMENCE. ABORT IF NEED BE."  
  
The prince rolled his eyes. These things talked way too much.  
  
"NO ABORT COMMENCED. THRUSTERS WILL TURN ON IN 5."  
  
Bulma let out a small squeak as the countdown began. Maybe going on this mission wasn't the smartest idea. How could she go into space? She hadn't ever done it before. Of course that didn't mean she couldn't do it now.but.  
  
"4."  
  
Vegeta looked down at the female across from him and raised an eyebrow. This must be a joke. She couldn't possibly be that nervous.they hadn't even moved yet.  
  
"3."  
  
The pod began to rock slightly as the engines readied themselves for the thrust forward into space and Bulma began to try and curl herself up in a little ball. The space pod was so cramped and tight.  
  
"2."  
  
If Vegeta hadn't known better, he'd say the woman was beginning to make him feel nervous. He wasn't quite sure what she was going to do. Right now she was curled up in a fetal position, which seemed hard to do with a seatbelt on. "Woman.control yourself."  
  
"1."  
  
She glanced up over her knees at the Prince and noticed his cautious yet worried look on his face. Those two added together summed up to be a confused expression. She quickly buried her face in the back of her knees and wrapped her arms tightly around the front of her legs. Did it just say one? That meant that..  
  
"0."  
  
There was a loud roar from the engines and the pod shook ferociously. Vegeta still kept his eyes on Bulma. It appeared she was just about ready to return to the womb. He shook his head and leaned back against the curved interior of the space pod. He didn't care what she did.as long as it didn't involve throwing up.  
  
"TAKE OFF!"  
  
  
  
  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"Woman! If you don't get off of me!" Vegeta practically growled and tried his best to push the woman away from him, but she had managed to get an unfathomable grip on his armor. "Woman!"  
  
Bulma opened her tightly shut eyes and blinked once then twice. The take off had been a bit more than she had expected and her seat belt hadn't been so secure. Now she was lying sprawled out on something blue.  
  
"Woman!"  
  
She looked up the blue amour of well-toned man and into the face Prince Vegeta. "Vegeta!" She gasped and scrambled, as far as she could in the cramped space, away from the pissed looking saiyin. "Er."  
  
He brushed his arms off as if something vile and dangerous to his health had brushed up against his being. "Woman what -is- wrong with you?"  
  
He hadn't really thought about what he had said. Certainly not meaning to be harsh at all. That's just the way he was, but what it obviously had some effect on the woman as he had yet to notice still occupied with his clothing. She sat crouched up against the wall of the space pod peering down at the small man with a stern expression on her face. "There's nothing wrong with me."  
  
"Heh, speak for yoursel.." The prince looked up for a moment and caught Bulma's and raised an eyebrow. It was strange for someone to look at him like that. A challenging and stubborn gaze. No one dared look at him like that. They'd most likely end up as a pile of ash as far as he was concerned, and at the moment, there wasn't exactly adequate space for a ki blast of that magnitude. "Woman, what is it now?"  
  
"I said there's nothing wrong with me."  
  
"Heh." He Huffed. "Speak for yourself." That's when he felt a small sting on the left side of his cheek. Out of reflex he grabbed the hand of his assailant and then paused a moment as he felt the familiar energy rushing to his hand. If he killed her now there'd be a ghastly amount of explaining to be done to his father, who for some reason seemed to like the blue haired annoyance. He reached out to grab her neck and applied a firm grip. "Woman I'm warning you. It's best if you don't try something like that again."  
  
He reached out to grab her neck and applied a firm grip. "Woman I'm warning you. It's best if you don't try something like that again."  
  
"What's the matter. Why don't you just kill me anyway."  
  
Now that was strange. He didn't get to many requests for a personal death.  
  
"I'm no good right? Just some blue haired female who can't defend herself because she's so damn weak!" Her voice became shrill and her brilliant aqua eyes looked on the brink of tears.  
  
"Woman." Vegeta at this point was a bit confused. She was going to cry? What was wrong with her? .oh.  
  
Bulma fell back against the wall of the ship and stayed crouched with a grimace on her face. "There's nothing wrong with me." Of all the degrading things that had ever been said to her or, most likely, behind her back, she hated hearing those words. What's wrong with you? They always said it like she was some grotesque bug they just wanted to step on. There wasn't anything wrong with her. So what if she was a different color? Did that mean so much? She always managed to handle it somehow though, and now she was making a fool of herself on her first mission. It must be the gravity or lack there of.  
  
"I didn't say they was anything wrong with you." He sighed and stated matter of factly. He was just too tired to be gruff with herself.  
  
"You said 'what's wrong with you'." She rustled about curling up into a small ball again thinking that this might shield her somehow.  
  
"Right, and you said 'there's nothing wrong with me.'"  
  
"So?"  
  
He sighed again making sure he was playing this out right. He didn't want to make her get all emotional again. If she ended up slapping him again, he might accidentally brake her arm. "So, there's nothing wrong with you." He exhaled the statement briefly feeling the effects of space. He really needed to get some sleep.  
  
She stared at him.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm going to sleep and so are you got it?" He waited for her to acknowledge this. She nodded. "Good." He nestled back in his seat and let the weariness of sleep pull at his eyelids till they closed completely.  
  
Bulma stared at the sleeping prince feeling in the most and least a bit confused. So there wasn't anything wrong with her? That's what he said, right? That wasn't just comfort he showed then was it? Impossible, but then again.She sighed and shook her head. Don't look to deep into it Bulma, she told herself. Just get some sleep. Her mouth opened in a stretched yawn and her eyelids fluttered shut.  
  
  
  
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AN: Okay, before you all yell at me I'M SORRY! Really I am, but I just had so much to do lately. Please forgive me! Updates will come much quicker I promise! 


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